Bristol-Myers Squibb has signed a worldwide research collaboration and licence agreement with CytomX Therapeutics to discover, develop and commercialise new therapies using CytomX’s Probody platform against multiple immuno-oncology targets.
Probodies are masked antibodies that remain inert in healthy tissue but are activated specifically in the disease microenvironment.
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The Probody approach has been designed to blunt systemic toxicities associated with antibodies and expand the therapeutic window of these drugs, unlocking new therapeutic targets.
Bristol-Myers Squibb will receive exclusive worldwide rights from CytomX to develop and commercialise Probodies for up to four oncology targets, including CTLA-4, and will have certain additional rights to substitute up to two collaboration targets.
Under the agreement, CytomX will receive an upfront payment of $50m from Bristol-Myers Squibb and will receive research funding over the course of the research term.
CytomX will also be eligible to receive additional preclinical payments and up to $298m in future development, regulatory and sales milestone payments for each collaboration target, as well as tiered mid-single-digit rising to low-double-digit royalty payments on net sales of each product commercialised by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
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By GlobalDataBristol-Myers Squibb executive vice-president and chief scientific officer Francis Cuss said that immuno-oncology offers an opportunity to change how cancer is treated, and the company is advancing its immuno-oncology drug research and development for patients living with the disease.
"The Probody platform has the potential to broaden discovery of innovative therapies, and the collaboration with CytomX reflects our continued leadership in immuno-oncology," Cuss said.
Image: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s New York Facility in the US. Photo: courtesy of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
